Layoffs by Zomato erase $360 million from Info Edge's market value

Zomato Media Pvt., in which Info Edge holds a 26.38% stake, laid off 541 people on Sept. 7, Business Standard had reported

Info Edge India Ltd. saw its market value erode by about Rs 26 billion ($360 million) after a news report said, a food-delivery unicorn the job-posting website is invested in, fired more than 500 employees.

Zomato Media Pvt., in which Info Edge holds a 26.38% stake, laid off 541 people on Sept. 7, the Business Standard newspaper reported on Sunday. Info Edge shares, which rose 1% Sept. 9, have since fallen 10% as investors saw the layoffs as a sign the slowdown in consumption is spreading.

“This adds to the growing noise about a slowdown affecting revenue of consumer companies,” said Purvesh Shelatkar, head of institutional brokering at Monarch Networth Capital Ltd. in Mumbai. “News about layoffs is an overhang on the stock now.”

Unlisted Zomato clocked a revenue of 13.1 billion rupees in the year ended March 2019, a near threefold jump from a year ago, according to the recent annual report of Info Edge. The company posted a loss of 10 billion rupees, up about 10-fold from 2018.

In comparison, Info Edge’s revenue increased 20% to about 11 billion rupees while its net income climbed 53% to 2.8 billion rupees.